Research On Nigeria

Before starting our education work, we engaged in a thorough period of research, on the region, the people and the issues impacting education. Below are links to these issues that we encountered during our we research.

The Region

Demographics

Economy

Religion

Safety

The People​

The Region

Federal Capital Territory: Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria, was built about 40 years ago with Nigerian oil dollars. Lagos, with 8 - 10 million people is the largest city and the major port and was the former capital city.

DEmographics

​Demographically, Nigeria is a young and rapidly growing country, 100 million of its 204 million people are under the age of 18. Fewer than half of Nigeria’s youth are currently making it through basic education. The Northern region is currently recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls. It is in the Northern Region where Africa Education Partnership is currently working, to address these problems in Zamfara State.

Economy

Economy: Rich in mineral and agricultural resources, Nigeria is the 6th largest oil-producing nation in the world. A culture of corruption and mismanagement has hindered growth in a potentially very prosperous nation. As a people, Nigerians are dynamic and entrepreneurial. ​

Religion

Religion: Constitutionally, Nigeria is a secular state. The population is almost evenly divided between Christians and Muslims; adherents of traditional African religions (animist) number about 10% of the population. It is important to note that religious affiliation is a politically sensitive issue.

Safety

Communal Violence: Communal violence in an endemic problem in Nigeria. There is also likely to be an increase in communal violence during the years of presidential and parliamentary elections, because politicians who are unhappy with the results of an election often instigate violence, sometimes exploiting religious tensions for their own ends. Such violence interrupts daily life, especially school attendance. When violence occurs in our region it is usually of this type.

Another concern regarding violence is due to an extreme Islamist group known as Boko Haram, fortunately this group does not operate in our area, but the threat is always there. Read more about Boko Haram on our blog.

The People

Population: Officially, Nigeria’s population is listed as 180 million, but the UN estimates it to be closer to 195 million. The population of Africa is 1.2 billion, Nigeria the most populous country in Africa. One in six Africans is Nigerian.

​​People: Nigeria is very diverse in language, religion and ethnicity, with nearly 500 ethnic/linguistic groups. In order to overcome these linguistic and ethnic differences, English is the official language and is usually the language of education. Another major issue in Nigeria is the divide between Muslims and Christians, this sometimes leads to violence. The goal of Graceland International School is to provide a co-educational environment that is free of all ethnic, linguistic and religious divisions. Read more on our blog.

Exceptions: We held many meetings with parents and our Nigerian partners to help us understand their needs and expectations for Grace International School.​​Aug 2011 - ​Information Meetings